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Purdue was to be an OSU warm-up for two lay-it-on-the-line Saturdays. Now critics are laying it
on the offensive line to stand up.

In the polls

With the upsets in the top five (Oklahoma, LSU and Missouri losing), it should have been a
weekend for the Buckeyes to leap. The new top five in the USA Today coaches' poll is Texas,
Alabama, Penn State, Southern California and Texas Tech, and the Buckeyes remained No. 11. OSU is
looking up at four other one-loss teams (USC, No. 6 Oklahoma, No. 7 Florida, No. 9 Georgia). Poll
voters, it seems, reward offense.

What's hot?

The defensive line. It has taken its share of abuse this year, but it was a game-altering force
against Purdue. With tackle Todd Denlinger playing extensively again, the rotation that featured
Doug Worthington, Nader Abdallah, Dex Larimore, Cameron Heyward, Rob Rose, Thaddeus Gibson, Nathan
Williams and Lawrence Wilson (before his knee injury) kept QB Curtis Painter on the move.

What's not hot?

The offense. No touchdowns? 'Nuff said. No fear? Not hardly. The only time the coaches have
shown no qualms about putting the ball into freshman Terrelle Pryor's passing hands was on the
season-saving drive at Wisconsin. He delivered. Chris "Beanie" Wells is right: Time is running out
to crank up the passing game.

What went right?

The OSU coverage schemes. Malcolm Jenkins, the man of the match (blocked punt, interception),
said the Buckeyes only used four coverages, but they shuffled them like a card shark. While
linebacker James Laurinaitis kept Painter off balance with on-again, off-again blitzes from the
edge, the defensive backs stayed aggressive. Chimdi Chekwa also stood out, just like he did the
year before in the win at Purdue.

Back to drawing board

Maybe chalk is running low in the offensive line meeting room. It sure looks like they're
counting on Beanie's tackle-breaking legs and lethal stiff-arm to make up for sloppy execution up
front. Just look at what happens to the offense when Beanie isn't in there. "Field goal team!"
Don't put all the blame on play-calling. The Buckeyes tried power plays, options, screens and
passes in the red zone, to no avail.

Catch that?

Of course, it didn't help the offensive line when, on consecutive plays in the second quarter,
left tackle Alex Boone went out with what appeared to be a right hip dinger, then his replacement,
freshman Mike Adams, limped out after rolling his left ankle. It's tough to have chemistry when the
elements keep changing, but video of right tackle Steve Rehring giving up that run-around sack of
Terrelle Pryor will be on the 2008 Purdue defensive highlight video.

Who's dinged?

Wilson's teammates had their fingers crossed, hoping the junior defensive end's knee injury
doesn't prove to be serious. There was no official update yesterday. He suffered a season-ending
broken leg in the opener in 2007. Meanwhile, there's a chance backup tailback Daniel "Boom" Herron
and receiver Dane Sanzenbacher could return this week after missing the Purdue game because of
concussions suffered at Wisconsin.

What's next?

Michigan State has reeled off six straight wins after a tough loss in the opener at California.
The Spartans have the Big Ten's most productive running back in Ohio native Javon Ringer, who
should be gaining more serious Heisman consideration, because he leads the nation in TDs (14) and
is second in rushing average (158.86). The MSU defense is ninth in the Big Ten, but Purdue's was
11th going into the OSU game.

The challenge

It's pretty simple, really. Continued offensive inconsistency will deep-six this season. The
biggest play in football is the touchdown. Without the one the OSU punt-defense team produced --
Jenkins' block, Etienne Sabino's 20-yard return -- the Buckeyes would have been in a world of hurt.
Forget The Game against hapless Michigan. The next four opponents (at MSU 6-1, Penn State 6-0, at
Northwestern 5-1, at Illinois 3-3) will determine the Buckeyes' fate.